Every day the ring of the final school bell at 3:00pm leaves 15 million kids in America with nowhere to go.  Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) wants to draw attention to critical issues facing America’s youth and the increased risk that comes with being unsupervised and unguided after school hours.

In an effort to reverse negative trends such as obesity, drug use, and violence exacerbated by unstructured out-of-school time, today BGCA launched their Great Futures Campaign. As a partner on this initiative, Discovery will join BGCA on their mission to mobilize the country to empower America’s youth by raising awareness about the importance of after school resources and programs.

Here are some fast statistics from the campaign:

• 15 million school-age children are home without adult supervision after school.
• 3 out of 10 kids are obese or overweight.
• 1 in 5 kids won’t graduate on time.
• 1 in 5 young people lives in poverty.

But with the influence of BGCA:

• 57% of alumni say the Club “saved my life.”
• 97% of Club teens expect to graduate from high school.
• 71% of Club teens volunteer at least once a year.
• 80% say the Club had a positive impact on their health & fitness.

Through the campaign, BGCA hopes to develop new programming and increase their reach to help more youth stay on track and improve their trajectory for a healthy, productive and happy lifestyle. You can check out the campaign video below and get involved at GreatFutures.org.